WDW to Eliminate Virtual Queues for Major Attractions
Walt Disney World is making a major change to the way guest access two headliner attractions.
Beginning on February 25, 2025, Disney is eliminating the virtual queues for Epcot’s Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind and Magic Kingdom’s Tiana’s Bayou Adventure rides. On February 25, guests can access those rides via a traditional standby line or as a Lightning Lane experience.
When these attractions revert to standard line access, there will be no Walt Disney World attractions that regularly employ a virtual queue system, though Disney may well bring virtual queues back as a line management technique for new attractions in the future. Also note that virtual queues may continue to be used in other circumstances at Walt Disney World. For example, as an access method for merchandise at runDisney races or other special events.
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Is there any data on what happened to the lines for other rides on the days immediately following the removal of the Virtual Queue? We have a trip next week and I’m trying to decide if I should now purchase the Lightning Lane for Cosmic Rewind. Previously the Lightning Lane for Cosmic Rewind was estimated to only save about 20 minutes, which made its worth debatable. Should we expect more or less time savings from that LL in the future (and the immediate future in particular)?
Hi Angie,
TRON Lightcycle/Run switched to a standby line on September 9, 2024. That’s a slow time of year. For your trip next week, a better comparison would be the week of November 4, 2024, which had crowd levels running between 5 and 7 (so, same as next week).
Actual wait times in line at TRON during the first half-hour it was running that week ranged from 20 to 60 minutes. The highest set of wait times we got at TRON that week were in the 65 to 70 minute range.
Cosmic Rewind is going to be more popular that TRON, because EPCOT has fewer rides than the Magic Kingdom. Plus Guardians is a more popular franchise than TRON. So I’d expect waits to be higher there, everything else being equal.
My guess is your waits will be between 60 and 80 minutes most of the day, with peaks around 100 minutes or so. I have no idea what the posted wait times are going to be – Disney might say something like “150 minutes” just to stop people from getting in line.
If it was me I’d buy the LLSP. It simplifies your morning strategy at EPCOT, and you can show up late and Disney doesn’t care.
Let me know if this doesn’t make sense. Happy to help.